MEDIA ADVISORY

How Much Land Does it Take to Save a Bear?

November 13 (Vancouver, BC): A group of internationally acclaimed scientists are stating that if British Columbians want to save a mere 30% of the habitat of rare and threatened species in the Great Bear Rainforest, that 40-60% of the land base must be protected as a minimum viable solution. This covers a greater area than was initially put forward by conservationists. The Liberal government is concerned about impacts on timber supply and is threatening to not implement the scientific recommendations despite repeated claims that their decisions on land use will be guided by the best available science.

On November 17th through November 19th, internationally renowned conservation scientists are meeting at a UBC conference on Conservation Area Design. During the conference, the Coast Information Team (CIT) will release preliminary results of its Ecosystem Spatial Analysis (ESA) of conservation opportunities in the Great Bear Rainforest.

At the close of the infamous "War in the Woods", government, industry, First Nations and conservationists agreed to jointly fund an unprecedented independent scientific study of the Great Bear Rainforest. Set up to conduct studies on the coast and to produce credible science to present to land-use planning tables, the CIT is comprised of a group of 30 scientists whose expertise comes from across the scientific disciplines. The CIT is now identifying priority areas for ecosystem protection in order to maintain ecosystem integrity. All parties, including government, agreed to abide by the science that emerged from the study.

Internationally, the provincial government often highlights the Great Bear Rainforest planning process to show its commitment to conservation and ecosystem-based management. However, the fate of the Great Bear Rainforest remains in question. Negotiations over the status of nearly every area proposed for protection in the Great Bear Rainforest are ongoing and are expected to reach conclusion in early 2004. Scientists are calling for precautionary ecosystem-based management across the landscape.

The credible science that is emerging, confirms that in order to protect the region's unique forests and threatened species, large intact areas must be protected from industrial activity and that forest management and logging activities must be guided by a new Ecosystem-based Management (EBM) approach.

None of the parties want to see the government back away from their commitment. Conservationists believe that the cost of this should not be borne by the coastal communities alone; consequently, they are presently raising innovative funds to diversify the economy, create more opportunities, and to enable conservation economies on the coast.

The Conservation Area Design conference at UBC provides a critical international forum that confirms and supports the outcome of the Coast Information Team's Ecosystem Spatial Analysis of BC's Coast.

The following scientists will be presenting at the conference and are available for interviews:

Chuck Rumsey, Director of Conservation Programs, Nature Conservancy Canada

Dr. Michael Soule, chair of Environmental Studies at the University of California. Michael's fieldwork has included studies of genetic variation and island biogeography

Dr. Jody Homes, Science and Planning Director, Rainforest Solutions Project

For more information or to arrange for interviews, contact: Kate Castelo, Communications Coordinator, Rainforest Solutions Project (A Project of the Sage Centre). Phone: 604-408-7890